Wild intensity and happy Pasha cat....

Pines on a Damp Day

Images for today... a watercolor from a few years ago. A somewhat cold and damp feeling painting. This evening is chilly, but not damp. I spent the last bit of sunlight outside with Pasha - who had been jailed all day. He was ecstatic to be outside and raced around the driveway and up and down a couple of trees. Usually when I get home its too dark for him to be out at all. Around here, its inside before dusk for kitties or be dinner for coyote, fisher, and bobcat. Even mountain lions have been seen around snatching a cat in these hills. We have a deal, Pasha and I, I will let him out as much as possible during the day if he comes when he's called. And he does. Unfortunately on the days that I am off teaching I leave quite early and often get back after dark. So, those are jail days and he lays the guilt trip on pretty hard when I am getting ready to leave in the morning. He looks at me with his gold-green eyes and with a barely opened mouth makes a sound quite literally like mwaaaawww. Its very convincing. I apologize profusely and list all the days he WILL be out this week before I head out the door. Wednesdays are good 'cause he has a stint of four days straight unless there is something special on the calendar. 

a forest pool

Meet "Root Woman". I made her a few years ago from a large hemlock root I got on the side of the road. She sits at the entrance to the forest, a kind of magical sentry. She's an intense character and seems to inspire women and freak out men- or at least a few. She inspires me, she has the wild intensity I was after, but I can see the point of my two male friends who say she freaks them out. You wouldn't want to mess with her. She's the perfect sentry to guard the entrance to the forest realm.... Too bad the squirrels aren't freaked out by her, there is a small chunk bitten out of her nose, I think by the red squirrels who inhabit the hollow tree she leans against. And, after several years of sitting outside all winter, buried in snow, I need to re-paint her face. She's made very simply from Cellu-clay stuck on the bottom of the root system. I added some wood glue on the bottom of her head for good measure and used two acorn caps for eyeballs. She's lasted quite well through rain, snow and ice and was a test of how well paper clay would do outside. If I shellac her, maybe she'll do even better...